


Signed and Delivered

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cliche, Constance has Issues, F/F, First Kiss, Goddess Tower (Fire Emblem), Love Confessions, Love Letters, Melodrama, Mercedes is firm but fair, Mutual Pining, Romantic misunderstandings, Self-Pity, Sunlight does bad things to Constance, shameless romantic cliches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: In the aftermath of perceived rejection, Constance writes an apology to her beloved and resigns herself to suffering. Said beloved has other ideas.
Relationships: Mercedes von Martritz/Constance von Nuvelle
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fifteen





	Signed and Delivered

_~~To my beloved~~ _

_~~Dearest Mercedes~~ _

_Mercedes,_

_Please forgive the sloppy mistakes at the beginning of this letter. I realize that may be an additional burden for you, as I am already praying you will eventually forgive me for my foolish indiscrections the night before. After all, someone such as me deserves forgiveness no more than she deserves your love._

_Perhaps I should have kept my feelings to myself instead of pushing them onto you so suddenly. In my haste, I had forgotten that many long years had passed since we last spoke, and that we have both changed since then. You, more beautiful and kind than ever, and I, a disgrace. Though we were alone, I can only imagine how it would look to anyone passing by. An underground mouse making an impassioned confession to a pure soul! Why, I would hardly blame them for believing I had forced myself onto you!_

_Perhaps it was my error in believing that two fallen nobles were kindred spirits. Count Bartels cast you out, and you happily abandoned your status to aid those in need. House Nuvelle is no more, yet I continue to chase after a hopeless dream, parading myself as a noble when such a word no longer suits me. We could not be more different were we the sun and moon themselves._

_In hindsight, I was well aware of these painful truths, and yet I still followed my heart so blindly. I took your hands, I looked up into your beautiful eyes, and I spoke the love which has resided within my heart for so long._

_I still feel your reaction all the way to my bones! Your eyes widening, your mouth incapable of forming words, your hands tensing within my grasp! You were understandably horrified by such a display, and it was all I could do to let go and apologize before I fled your presence._

_But I do not blame you for any of this, Mercedes. How could I? It was I who ruined a perfectly good night together by laying bare such inappropriate feelings. We are both fallen nobles, but you have risen above your tragedies and come out stronger. Whereas I am weak, clinging to the shadows of what was and can never be again._

_So this morning, I sit in the sunlight, not even a tree for shade, as I pen this apology to you. I deserve every ounce of shame and discomfort coursing through me. I dare not go inside, for fear that should I return to my normal self, I may blame you for my humiliation._

_You are the last person who deserves such treatment, Mercedes._

_I do hope that with time, you can forgive me, even a tiny bit._

_Chastened and humbled,  
Constance_

She folds the letter before her tears can smudge the ink, stands up without stretching, and quietly leaves the letter under the door to Mercedes' room. The sunlight burns her eyes and she's uncomfortably warm and even sweaty, but she won't seek even a moment's shade.

She makes her way to the gazebo, an area normally full of people and noise, and tilts her tear-stained face to the sky as she sits down beside a carnation bush.

_Even if I wanted to blame you, Mercedes, I cannot._

The chatter of the students surrounds her, but to Constance, it's nothing but muffled echoes. The occasional cat wanders by and she pets them, but they don't linger. The sun warms her, and Constance keeps her gaze fixed straight ahead, wallowing in her misery like the fool she is. Eventually, she grows drowsy and falls into a dreamless sleep.

"-stance? _Constance!_ " Someone's nudging her shoulder, and she instantly recognizes the voice in her ear. She tenses, curling further into a ball, her heart beating frantically. _No, please, I've already humiliated myself enough last night and with that letter! Please don't...!_

She opens her eyes, and Mercedes is looking down at her with undeserved worry. The opposite of her look of shock the night before.

"You should not have had to burden yourself by coming this far to find me."

"It's _not_ a burden, I haven't seen you all day and I was worried!" Mercedes's tone is frantic, but stern. "Even your friends in the Abyss didn't know where you were!"

"You...went underground, for my sake? Oh, Mercedes, you-"

" _Constance._ " Mercedes gently tugs on her arm until Constance has no choice but to stand. Her body aches from sitting in the same position for so long, and her skin tingles unpleasantly from the heat.

"I do appreciate your making the effort to find me."

"You and I need to talk," Mercedes says, and Constance's stomach twists painfully. She'd run off before Mercedes could respond last night, robbing her of a chance to reject her properly. She follows Mercedes in silence, barely paying attention to where they're going. She assumes they're going to her room, or the cathedral, but when she dares to look up her eyes widen.

"Mercedes, this is..." The Goddess Tower, of course, where couples go to pledge their undying love to each other. Why would Mercedes be taking her _here?_ _Cruel fate, why do you mock me so?_ But she follows Mercedes up the stairs, the setting sun and the darkening sky threatening to rob her of the self-pity she's been smothering herself with since last night. A nagging feeling worries at the thick cloak, and a different sense of embarrassment sets in. "But...why would-"

Mercedes kisses her, and Constance instinctively kisses back because this is all she's wanted for years now and she can't bring herself to question it. Mercedes' lips are as warm as she always dreamed, that soft body flush against hers, and at this moment nothing else matters.

When they finally break for air, though, embarrassment has replaced self-pity. She thinks of the letter, the day spent making herself miserable, and knows she's been an idiot.

"Mercedes, I-"

"That's what I wanted to do last night," Mercedes gently interrupts, "only you ran away. I was so sure you regretted confessing to me, and I felt awful. But...then I found this." She withdraws the letter from the folds of her shawl, and Constance cringes. She scrambles for some logical explanation, now that she knows Mercedes returns her feelings she regrets writing even line one of that drivel.

"I've been in love with you for so long," she finally says. "When we were separated, not a day went by that I did not think of you. I was so happy to be reunited with you, but so much time had passed, we were both so different. I wasn't sure..."

"Neither was I," Mercedes says quietly. "I didn't think...I was so sure time had weakened our bond that I was _shocked_ to hear your confession! But if I'd known you would mistake it for rejection..."

"No." Constance shakes her head, slowly overcome with clarity. "No, it wasn't your fault. I suppose...even with my drive and determination to restore House Nuvelle, I know what my present reality is. You deserve the best, Mercedes, and I can give you so little. So I conditioned myself to expect rejection."

She should feel better admitting to her role in this ridiculous melodrama, but instead she feels even sillier. How pathetic must she have looked last night? And it wasn't fair to Mercedes, either, to expect such a kind and loving soul to turn her away.

"So I'm sorry. Had I had a little more confidence in myself, or not run away-"

"Then I wouldn't have had a chance to take you to the Goddess Tower and kiss you," Mercedes cuts her off. "So don't feel sorry. What's done is done, and the important thing is that we're together now." Trust Mercedes to put the brightest face on a ridiculous situation, Constance thinks. _Is it any wonder I love you so much?_ Happy tears fill her eyes, and this time when she takes Mercedes' hands, she's drawn closer.

"The legend of the Goddess Tower states that if two people make a promise, the Goddess herself will fulfill their wish," Mercedes says. "Constance, I have little to offer you myself, but whatever I can do to help you restore House Nuvelle, I will."

"And I promise that I _will_ restore House Nuvelle. I'll never give up, no matter how much I struggle or no matter how bright the sun is." By now the sky is dark, illuminated only by the waning moon and a few stars, and the cool air soothes the itch of the heat still lingering on her skin. Mercedes's hand comes up to cup her cheek, and Constance sighs.

"From now on, your dream is my dream," Mercedes says. Emboldened by the soothing darkness and their promise, Constance tilts her head up.

"And one of mine has just come true," she whispers, and brings their lips together again.


End file.
